Light conducting toy building blocks

ABSTRACT

An interconnectable toy building block, including a body portion defining an upper surface, a lower surface, and at least one side surface. The body portion is defined about a longitudinal axis, which extends between the upper surface and the lower surface. A bore is formed in the body portion, and is open to the upper surface and to the lower surface. A longitudinal axis of the bore is disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body portion. A light conducting prong is disposed within the bore, such that the top surface of the prong is disposed within the bore beneath a height of the upper surface, and the bottom surface of the prong is disposed beneath the lower surface and the prong extends outwardly from the lower surface. An upper portion of the bore is not filled by the prong.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application gains priority from PCT Patent Application No.PCT/IB2019/050664, filed on Jan. 28, 2019, which gains priority fromU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/623,572, filed on Jan. 30, 2018,which is entitled “INTERACTIVE CRAFTING ELECTRONIC TOY SYSTEM”, as wellas PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IB2019/050664.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention, in some embodiments, relates to the field of toys, andmore specifically to light conducting toy building blocks, which may beinterconnected.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many building toys exist in which base units, or building blocks, areconnected to each other to form a larger structure. Classic examples ofsuch toys include Lego®, Duplo®, Lincoln Logs®, K'nex®, and the like.Several such toys also include transparent or translucent buildingblocks.

However, the prior art building block are typically formed of a singlematerial, and have a single color, either opaque or transparent. Suchbuilding blocks either fully block passage of light, or allow passage oflight through the whole block, without separating the light inparticular locations, or channels.

There is thus a need in the art for toy building blocks which facilitatedistinct or separate light conduction for each connector of the buildingblock, and which can facilitate use of illumination, or illuminatedinstructions, to guide a user in building a structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the invention relate to interconnecting toy buildingblocks, and specifically to light conducting toy building blocks, whoselight conduction can be used to provide real-time instructions to a userfor building a complex structure.

There is provided, in accordance with an embodiment of a first aspect ofthe teachings herein, an interconnectable toy building block, including:

a body portion defining an upper surface, a lower surface, and at leastone side surface, the body portion being defined about a longitudinalaxis extending between the upper surface and the lower surface;

at least one bore formed in the body portion, the at least one borebeing open to at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface,and having a bore longitudinal axis which is substantially parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the body portion; and

at least one prong disposed within the at least one bore, the at leastone prong having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the topsurface of the at least one prong is disposed within the at least onebore beneath a height of the upper surface,

wherein at least one of the at least one prong is light conducting.

In some embodiments, a bottom portion including the bottom surface of atleast one of the at least one prong extends out of the body portionbelow the lower surface, and is dimensioned and configured to bereceived in a portion of a the bore of a second the interconnectable toybuilding block.

In some embodiments, at least a first bore of the at least one bore isthroughgoing and extends from the upper surface to the lower surface,wherein at least a first prong of the at least one prong is disposedwithin the first bore such that the top surface of the first prong iswithin the first bore and beneath a height of the upper surface, andwherein a portion of the first bore above the top surface of the firstprong is dimensioned and configured to receive a bottom end of a theprong of a second the interconnectable toy building block. In some suchembodiments, the first prong includes a light guiding prong, and whereinlight guided through the first prong is visible from the upper surfaceof the interconnectable toy building block.

In some embodiments, the at least one bore includes a plurality ofbores, and the at least one prong includes a corresponding plurality ofprongs.

There additionally is provided, in accordance with an embodiment of asecond aspect of the teachings herein, an interconnectable toy buildingblock, including:

a body portion defining an upper surface, a lower surface, and at leastone side surface, the body portion being defined about a longitudinalaxis extending between the upper surface and the lower surface;

a bore formed in the body portion, the bore being open to the uppersurface and to the lower surface, a longitudinal axis of the bore beingsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body portion; and

a light conducting prong disposed within the bore, the prong having atop surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the prong disposedwithin the bore beneath a height of the upper surface, and the bottomsurface of the prong disposed below the lower surface, such that abottom portion of the prong extends outwardly from and below the lowersurface,

wherein an upper portion of the bore is not filled by the prong.

In some embodiments, light guided through the prong is visible when theinterconnectable toy building block is viewed from above the uppersurface.

In some embodiments, the bore includes a plurality of bores, and theprong includes a corresponding plurality of prongs.

In some embodiments of the first and second aspects, theinterconnectable toy building block is devoid of any light source orlight generating component, such as light bulbs, Light Emitting Diodes(LEDs), and the like.

In some embodiments of the first and second aspects, theinterconnectable toy building block is devoid of any electroniccomponent.

In some embodiments of the first and second aspects, the body portionincludes a polyhedron, such that the upper surface is substantiallyparallel to the lower surface, and the at least one side surfaceincludes a plurality of side surfaces each connecting the upper surfaceand the lower surface. In some such embodiments, at least one of theplurality of side surfaces is substantially perpendicular to the uppersurface and to the lower surface. Additionally or alternatively, in somesuch embodiments, at least one of the plurality of side surfaces isangled with respect to the upper surface and to the lower surface.

In some embodiments of the first and second aspects, the body portionincludes a hemisphere, such that a single circumferential side surfaceconnects the upper surface and the lower surface, and only one of thefollowing is true:

the lower surface is planar, and the upper surface is convex; or

the upper surface is planar, and the lower surface is concave.

In some embodiments of the first and second aspects, the body portionincludes a sphere, such that the upper surface is convex, the lowersurface is concave, and a single circumferential side surface connectsthe upper surface and the lower surface.

There is further provided, in accordance with an embodiment of a thirdaspect of the teachings herein, a toy structure including:

a first interconnectable toy building block according to the first orsecond aspects, including a first the bore and a first the prong; and

a second interconnectable toy building block according to the first orsecond aspects, including a second the bore and a second the prong,

wherein the bottom portion of the first prong is disposed within theupper portion of the second bore, such that light guided through thesecond prong is transmitted, within the second bore, to the first prongand is guided therethrough, such that the light is visible when the toystructure is viewed from above the upper surface of the firstinterconnectable toy building block.

In some embodiments, the first interconnectable toy building block has afirst shape, and the second interconnectable toy building block has asecond shape, different that the first shape.

There is additionally provided, in accordance with an embodiment of afourth aspect of the teachings herein, a method for building a threedimensional structure, the method including:

obtaining a first interconnectable toy building block according to thefirst or second aspects described herein, including a first the bore anda first the prong;

obtaining a second interconnectable toy building block according to thefirst or second aspects described herein, including a second the boreand a second the prong; and

inserting the bottom portion of the first prong into the upper portionof the second bore.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Some embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference tothe accompanying figures. The description, together with the figures,makes apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art how someembodiments of the invention may be practiced. The figures are for thepurpose of illustrative discussion and no attempt is made to showstructural details of an embodiment in more detail than is necessary fora fundamental understanding of the invention. For the sake of clarity,some objects depicted in the figures are not to scale.

In the Figures:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are, respectively, a top and side perspective viewillustration and a bottom and side perspective view illustration of afirst light conducting toy building block according to an embodiment ofthe teachings herein;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are, respectively, top, bottom, and side planarviews of the light conducting toy building block of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 3 is a sectional illustration of the to by building block of FIGS.1A to 2C, the sectional illustration taken along section lines III-IIIin FIG. 2A;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are, respectively, a top and side perspective viewillustration and a bottom and side perspective view illustration of asecond light conducting toy building block according to an embodiment ofthe teachings herein;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are, respectively, a top and side perspective viewillustration and a bottom and side perspective view illustration of athird light conducting toy building block according to an embodiment ofthe teachings herein;

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are, respectively, a top and side perspective viewillustration, a bottom and side perspective view illustration, and asectional illustration of a fourth light conducting toy building blockaccording to an embodiment of the teachings herein, the sectionalillustration taken along section lines VIC-VIC in FIG. 6A;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are, respectively, a top and side perspective viewillustration and a bottom and side perspective view illustration of afifth light conducting toy building block according to an embodiment ofthe teachings herein;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are perspective view illustrations of steps ofbuilding a three dimensional model using the building blocks of FIGS.1A-7B; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B are perspective view illustrations of a threedimensional model of a car, when broken into individual layers and whenfully constructed, respectively, the model built using the buildingblocks of FIGS. 1A to 7B, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The invention, in some embodiments, relates to the field of toys, andmore specifically to light conducting toy building blocks, which may beinterconnected.

The principles, uses and implementations of the teachings herein may bebetter understood with reference to the accompanying description andfigures. Upon perusal of the description and figures present herein, oneskilled in the art is able to implement the invention without undueeffort or experimentation.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplications to the details of construction and the arrangement of thecomponents and/or methods set forth in the following description and/orillustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention can beimplemented with other embodiments and can be practiced or carried outin various ways. It is also understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein is for descriptive purpose and should not beregarded as limiting.

For purposes of this disclosure, “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, and “lower”are relative to one typical orientation of the toy building block(s),with the bottom or lower portion being a side, or adjacent to a side,adapted to be inserted into another toy building block, and the top orupper portion being a side, or adjacent to a side, adapted to receiveanother toy building block therein.

For the purposes of this disclosure, “substantially” is defined as “atleast 95% of the term being described”, or “within a 5% margin from theterm being described”.

For the purposes of this disclosure, a surface is considered to be“convex” if from an exterior of a toy building block including thesurface, and when viewed from the top of the toy building block, thesurface appears convex.

For the purposes of this disclosure, a surface is considered to be“concave” if from an exterior of a toy building block including thesurface, and when viewed from the top of the toy building block, thesurface appears concave.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the terms “light conducting” and“light guiding” are used interchangeably, and define a material orstructure which receives illumination from one end and transports thelight to the other end thereof, without the light significantlydissipating or being enhanced. A “light conducting” material does notgenerate light, but merely conducts light it receives, such as fromanother light source.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the terms “light generating” and“light source” define a material or structure which emits lightgenerated within the material or structure. A light source does not needto receive light in order to emit light.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1A and 1B, which are, respectively, a topand side perspective view illustration and a bottom and side perspectiveview illustration of a first light conducting toy building block 100according to an embodiment of the teachings herein, to FIGS. 2A, 2B, and2C, which are, respectively, top, bottom, and side planar views of thelight conducting toy building block 100 of FIGS. 1A and 1B, and to FIG.3, which is a sectional illustration of the to by building block 100 ofFIGS. 1A to 2C.

As seen in FIGS. 1A to 3, light conducting toy building block 100includes a body portion 102, which is typically formed of an opaque,colored material. Body portion 102 includes an upper surface 104,sometimes termed the nominal upper surface of toy building block 100,side surfaces 106, and a lower surface 108, sometime termed the nominallower surface of toy building block 100.

Body portion 102 includes a plurality of bores 110, each of which hasdisposed therein a prong 112. At least one such prong 112, and in someembodiments all the prongs 112 disposed within toy building block 100,is/are light conducting or light guiding, and may be formed of anysuitable material including glass, one or more optical fibers,transparent plastic, or any other light conducting or light guidingmaterial.

Each prong 112 includes a first end 114, extending longitudinallyoutwardly from lower surface 108 of body portion 102, and terminatingbelow the nominal lower surface, and a second end 116 disposed withincorresponding bore 110 below nominal upper surface 104, as seen clearlyin the sectional illustration in FIG. 3, such that an upper portion ofthe bore remains unfilled by the prong.

Toy building block 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 3 is a square toyblock, such that side surfaces 106 thereof are all substantiallyidentical in size, and are all substantially perpendicular to uppersurface 104 and to lower surface 108. In the illustrated embodiment, toybuilding block 100 includes four prongs 112, disposed equidistantlyabout the toy building block. However, the toy building block mayinclude any suitable number of prongs. For example, the toy buildingblock may include sixteen equidistantly disposed prongs forming a 4×4matrix, may include two prongs disposed along a central line of the toybuilding block, or any other suitable number and/or arrangement ofprongs.

Toy building block 100 does not generate or emit light, other than lightreceived from another source. Toy building block 100 is devoid of anylight source. Toy building block 100 is further devoid of any electroniccomponent.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 4A and 4B, which are, respectively, a topand side perspective view illustration and a bottom and side perspectiveview illustration of a second light conducting toy building block 200according to an embodiment of the teachings herein. Toy building block200 is substantially similar to toy building block 100 of FIGS. 1A to 3,but is rectangular. As such, upper and lower surfaces 204 and 208 areconnected by a first pair of side surfaces 206 a along short edgesthereof, and by a second pair of side surfaces 206 b along long edgesthereof, side surfaces 206 a and 206 b being substantially perpendicularto upper and lower surfaces 204 and 208. Toy building block 200 includesbores 210 and prongs 212 substantially as described hereinabove withrespect to bores 110 and prongs 112 of toy building block 100. In theillustrated embodiment, toy building block 200 includes two prongs 212,disposed equidistantly along the long direction of the toy buildingblock and centered with respect to the short direction of the toybuilding block. However, the toy building block may include any suitablenumber of prongs in any suitable arrangement.

Toy building block 200 does not generate or emit light, other than lightreceived from another source. Toy building block 200 is devoid of anylight source. Toy building block 200 is further devoid of any electroniccomponent.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5A and 5B, which are, respectively, a topand side perspective view illustration and a bottom and side perspectiveview illustration of a third light conducting toy building block 300according to an embodiment of the teachings herein.

Toy building block 300 is substantially similar to toy building block200 of FIGS. 4A and 4B, and includes upper and lower surfaces 304 and308 connected by a first and second pairs of side surfaces 306 a and 306b, side surfaces 306 a and 306 b being substantially perpendicular toupper and lower surfaces 304 and 308. Toy building block 300 includesbores 310 and prongs 312 substantially as described hereinabove, andspecifically includes eight prongs 312, arranged in two rows of fourprongs, the rows being disposed equidistantly with respect to the shortedge of the toy building block and the prongs within each row beingdisposed equidistantly with respect to the long edge of the toy buildingblock. However, the toy building block may include any suitable numberof prongs in any suitable arrangement.

Toy building block 300 does not generate or emit light, other than lightreceived from another source. Toy building block 300 is devoid of anylight source. Toy building block 300 is further devoid of any electroniccomponent.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, which are, respectively,a top and side perspective view illustration, a bottom and sideperspective view illustration, and a sectional illustration of a fourthlight conducting toy building block 400 according to an embodiment ofthe teachings herein, the sectional illustration taken along sectionlines VIC-VIC in FIG. 6A.

As seen in FIGS. 6A to 6C, light conducting toy building block 400includes a body portion 402, which is typically formed of an opaque,colored material. Body portion 402 has a generally square upper surface404, sometimes termed the nominal upper surface of toy building block400, which includes four edges 405 a, 405 b, 405 c, and 405 d. Bodyportion 402 has a generally square lower surface 408, sometime termedthe nominal lower surface of toy building block 400, which includes fouredges 409 a, 409 b, 409 c, and 409 d. Upper surface 404 of toy buildingblock 400 has an area significantly smaller than lower surface 408, suchthat the area of upper surface 404 is equal to approximately a quarterof the area of lower surface 408. Surfaces 404 and 408 are arranged suchthat one corner thereof is vertically aligned. As such, edges 405 a and405 b of surface 404 are vertically aligned with edges 409 a and 409 bof surface 408. However, edges 405 c and 405 d of surface 404 aredisposed above the area of surface 408, and are not vertically alignedwith edges 409 c and 409 d.

A first pair of side surfaces 406 a connect edges 405 c and 405 d ofsurface 404 to edges 409 c and 409 d of surface 408. Because the edges405 c and 405 d are not vertically aligned with edges 409 c and 409 d,the side surfaces 406 a are not perpendicular to surfaces 404 and 408,and span some of the gap between the surfaces 404 and 408. In theillustrated embodiment, the surfaces 406 a are disposed at an obtuseangle relative to upper surface 404, and at an acute angle relative tolower surface 408.

A second pair of side surfaces 406 b, connect edges 405 a and 405 b ofupper surface 404 to edges 409 a and 409 b of lower surface 408,respectively. Because edges 405 a and 405 b are vertically aligned withedges 409 a and 409 b, side surfaces 406 b are substantiallyperpendicular to upper and lower surfaces 404 and 408 and to each other.However, because the side surfaces 406 a are angled, the connection ofside surfaces 406 a with side surfaces 406 b is at an angled, and assuch all the side surfaces 406 a and 406 b are generally trapezoidal,where side surfaces 406 b form right angle trapezoids.

Similarly to toy building block 100 of FIGS. 1A to 3, body portion 402includes a plurality of bores, each of which has disposed therein aprong, at least one of the prongs being light conducting or lightguiding. In an area in which upper surface 404 is aligned with, anddisposed above, lower surface 408, a bore 410 a is throughgoing, andextends through the entirety of body portion 402. A prong 412 a disposedin bore 410 a includes a first end 414 a disposed lower than lowersurface 408 and a second end 416 a disposed within the bore 410 a, suchthat a portion 418 a of the bore 410 a is unfilled by the prong andaccessible via upper surface 404, as seen clearly in FIG. 6C.

In areas of the housing in which side surfaces 406 a are disposedvertically above lower surface 408, bores 410 b extend only partiallythrough the body portion, such that the bore terminates lower than sidesurface 406 a, as seen clearly in FIG. 6C. A prong 412 b is disposedwithin each bore 410 b, such that a first end 414 b of the prong isdisposed lower than lower surface 408 and a second end 416 b is disposedwithin the bore 410 b and terminates within body portion 402, such thatit is not accessible via upper surface 404 or side surface 406 a, asseen clearly in FIG. 6C. As such, light conducted by prongs 412 b wouldnot be visible when viewing toy building block 400 from above, or fromthe side.

In the illustrated embodiment, toy building block 400 includes oneprongs 412 a, and three prongs 412 b, such that all the prongs arearranged in two rows of two prongs each, in a similar arrangement tothat described hereinabove with respect to FIGS. 1A to 3. However, thetoy building block may include any suitable number of prongs in anysuitable arrangement.

Toy building block 400 does not generate or emit light, other than lightreceived from another source. Toy building block 400 is devoid of anylight source. Toy building block 400 is further devoid of any electroniccomponent.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 7A and 7B, which are, respectively, a topand side perspective view illustration and a bottom and side perspectiveview illustration of a fifth light conducting toy building block 500according to an embodiment of the teachings herein.

As seen in FIGS. 7A and 7B, light conducting toy building block 500includes a body portion 502, which is typically formed of an opaque,colored material. Body portion 502 has a generally rectangular uppersurface 504, sometimes termed the nominal upper surface of toy buildingblock 500, which includes four edges 505 a, 505 b, 505 c, and 505 d.Body portion 502 has a generally square lower surface 508, sometimetermed the nominal lower surface of toy building block 500, whichincludes four edges 509 a, 509 b, 509 c, and 509 d. The area of uppersurface 504 is significantly smaller than the area of lower surface 508,and is equal to approximately a half of the area of lower surface 508,such that edges 505 b and 505 d are substantially equal in length toedges 509 b and 509 d, but edges 505 a and 505 c are approximately halfthe length of edges 509 a and 509 c. Surfaces 504 and 508 are arrangedsuch that two corners thereof are vertically aligned, and as such edges505 a, 505 b, and 505 c of surface 504 are vertically aligned with edges509 a, 509 b, and 509 c of surface 508. However, edge 505 d of surface504 are disposed above the area of surface 508, and are not verticallyaligned with edge 509 d.

A first generally rectangular side surface 506 b connects edges 505 band 509 b, which have substantially the same length and are verticallyaligned. As such, rectangular side surface 506 a is generallyperpendicular to upper and lower surfaces 504 and 508.

A second generally rectangular side surface 506 d connects edges 505 dand 509 d, which have substantially the same length. However, becauseedges 505 d and 509 d are not vertically aligned, side surface 506 d isperpendicular to surfaces 504 and 508, and spans some of the gap betweenthe surfaces 504 and 508. In the illustrated embodiment, the surface 506d is disposed at an obtuse angle relative to upper surface 504, and atan acute angle relative to lower surface 508.

A pair of side surfaces 506 a and 506 c, connect edges 505 a and 505 cof upper surface 504 to edges 509 a and 509 c of lower surface 508,respectively. Because edges 505 a and 505 c are vertically aligned withedges 509 a and 509 c, side surfaces 506 a and 506 c are substantiallyperpendicular to upper and lower surfaces 504 and 508, and to sidesurface 506 b. However, because the side surface 506 d is angled, theconnection of side surfaces 506 a and 506 c with side surface 506 d isat an angled. As such, side surfaces 506 a and 506 c form right angletrapezoids.

Similarly to toy building block 100 of FIGS. 1A to 3, body portion 502includes a plurality of bores, each of which has disposed therein aprong, at least one of the prongs being light conducting or lightguiding. Similarly to that described above with respect to FIGS. 6A to6C, toy building block 500 includes throughgoing bores 510 a whichinclude prongs 512 a, and bores 510 b similar to bores 410 b of FIGS. 6Ato 6C, disposed beneath side surface 506 d, which span only part of theheight of the body portion 502, and include prongs 512 b which are notvisible when looking at the toy building block 500 from above or fromthe side.

In the illustrated embodiment, toy building block 500 includes twoprongs 512 a, and two prongs 512 b, such that all the prongs arearranged in two rows of two prongs each, in a similar arrangement tothat described hereinabove with respect to FIGS. 1A to 3. However, thetoy building block may include any suitable number of prongs in anysuitable arrangement.

Toy building block 500 does not generate or emit light, other than lightreceived from another source. Toy building block 500 is devoid of anylight source. Toy building block 500 is further devoid of any electroniccomponent.

It will be appreciated that any toy building block, which includes atleast one bore having at least one light conducting prong disposedtherein is considered to be within the scope of the invention. As such,one of skill in the art may conceive of many other shapes andarrangements of such toy building blocks.

In some embodiments, a toy building block according to the presentinvention may be hemispherical, and may include a circular lowersurface, a curved upper surface, and a circumferential and curved sidesurface. In some such embodiments, the bores may be throughgoing at allportions of the hemisphere, or may be throughgoing only at the apex ofthe hemisphere.

In some embodiments, a toy building block according to the presentinvention may be spherical, and may include a curved lower surface, acurved upper surface, and a circumferential and curved side surface. Insome such embodiments, the bores may be throughgoing at all portions ofthe sphere, or may be throughgoing only at the apices of the sphere.

In some embodiments, a toy building block according to the presentinvention may be an upper end toy building block, such that none of thebores in the toy building block are throughgoing and light guidedthrough the prongs is not visible from the top or sides of the toybuilding block. This arrangement of bores and prongs may exist in anyshape of toy building block, including the block shapes describedhereinabove, as well as spherical and hemispherical blocks.

In some embodiments, a toy building block according to the presentinvention may have a lower surface which has a smaller surface area thanan upper surface thereof, and one or more angled side surface(s) connectthe surfaces. In such embodiments, in areas that the upper and lowersurfaces overlaps, the bores would be throughgoing and the prongs wouldextend from the bottom of the toy building block and to a height beneaththe upper surface, such that a portion of the bore remains unfilled andthe prong is visible from the top of the toy building block. In areas inwhich the upper and lower surfaces do not overlap, partial bores wouldextend from the body of the toy building block to the top surfacethereof, and would not extend to the bottom surface of the toy buildingblock. Prongs disposed in such partial bores would not extend from thebottom of the toy building block, and an upper end thereof wouldterminate within the bore beneath the height of the upper surface, whilebeing visible from the top of the toy building block.

In use, toy building blocks according to the present invention areinterconnected by placement of the prongs of a first, upper toy buildingblock, within the bores of a second, lower toy building block disposeddirectly beneath the first block. The prongs of the upper block extendinto the bores of the second block until they engage the upper end ofthe prongs of the second block, such that light guided through theprongs of the lower block continues to be guided through the prongs ofthe upper block, and is visible when viewing the structure from theupper surface of the upper block.

As described in detail hereinbelow, a toy building block according tothe present invention, or a structure of such toy building blocks, maybe placed above one or more light sources, such that light from thelight source(s) may be guided through the prongs and may be visible fromthe top of the toy building block or of the built structure. As such,light may be used to guide the user which color block, or which type ofblock, to place above an already placed block, as explained in detailhereinbelow.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, which are perspectiveview illustrations of steps of building a three dimensional model usingtoy building blocks according to the present invention.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C show a building block base plate 600 which includesapertures, or anchoring locations, 602 for anchoring toy building blocksthereto, and is disposed above a plurality of illumination sources orabove a crafting guiding system, for example as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/047,107 filed on Jul. 27, 2018, which isincorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

As seen in FIG. 8A, in a first construction step, light is illuminatedfrom the crafting guiding system through some of the apertures 602,indicating the location and colors of toy building blocks to be placedon base plate 600. In the illustrated embodiment, the light is purpleand forms the shape of a square 604.

In FIG. 8B, the user has placed toy building blocks according to thepresent invention as indicated in FIG. 8A over the base plate 600 in thelocations indicated by illumination square 604, to form a square ofsuitable toy building blocks 606. The instructions for construction ofthe next layer of the structure are then displayed by the craftingsystem, and are visible via the light conducting prongs within the toybuilding blocks of square 606. In the illustrated embodiment, theinstructions are provided by another color of light emanating from thetoy building blocks of square 606, instructing the user to build a layerof a second color of toy building block, forming a square 608 that hassmaller sides than square 606 and is concentric therewith.

In FIG. 8C, the user has placed toy building blocks of the second colorover building block square 606 in the locations indicated byillumination square 608, to form a square 610 of toy building blocks ofthe second color. As such, the user has built a two-layerthree-dimensional structure. It will be appreciated that the stepsillustrated in FIGS. 8A to 8C may be repeated any number of times, andmay be used to build complex structures, for example as illustrated inFIGS. 9A and 9B.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 9A and 8B, which are perspective viewillustrations of a three dimensional model of a car, when broken intoindividual layers and when fully constructed using the toy buildingblocks of the present invention, as described hereinabove with respectto FIGS. 1A to 7B.

As seen in FIG. 9A, in order to build a car, the user must build 12layers 700 of toy building blocks. As such, the user may benefit from alayer-by-layer instruction process, in which the user is guided, at eachlayer, how the next layer should look, by conduction of light throughthe prongs of the underlying layers, substantially as described abovewith respect to FIGS. 8A to 8C. A car constructed 702 according to suchlayer-by-layer instructions is illustrated in FIG. 9B, disposed above acrafting system 704 as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/047,107 filed on Jul. 27, 2018, which is incorporated by reference asif fully set forth herein.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other describedembodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the contextof various embodiments are not to be considered essential features ofthose embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without thoseelements.

It will be appreciated that certain features of the invention, whichare, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, mayalso be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely,various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described inthe context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately orin any suitable sub-combination.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims. All publications, patents and patentapplications mentioned in this specification, including U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/047,107 filed on Jul. 27, 2018, are hereinincorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification, tothe same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patentapplication was specifically and individually indicated to beincorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation oridentification of any reference in this application shall not beconstrued as an admission that such reference is available as prior artto the present invention.

1. An interconnectable toy building block, comprising: a body portiondefining an upper surface, a lower surface, and at least one sidesurface, said body portion being defined about a longitudinal axisextending between said upper surface and said lower surface; at leastone bore formed in said body portion, said at least one bore being opento at least one of said upper surface and said lower surface, and havinga bore longitudinal axis which is substantially parallel to saidlongitudinal axis of said body portion; and at least one prong disposedwithin said at least one bore, said at least one prong having a topsurface and a bottom surface, wherein said top surface of said at leastone prong is disposed within said at least one bore beneath a height ofsaid upper surface, wherein at least one of said at least one prong islight conducting.
 2. The interconnectable toy building block of claim 1,wherein a bottom portion including said bottom surface of at least oneof said at least one prong extends out of said body portion below saidlower surface, and is dimensioned and configured to be received in aportion of a said bore of a second said interconnectable toy buildingblock.
 3. The interconnectable toy building block of claim 1, wherein atleast a first bore of said at least one bore is throughgoing and extendsfrom said upper surface to said lower surface, wherein at least a firstprong of said at least one prong is disposed within said first bore suchthat said top surface of said first prong is within said first bore andbeneath a height of said upper surface, and wherein a portion of saidfirst bore above said top surface of said first prong is dimensioned andconfigured to receive a bottom end of a said prong of a second saidinterconnectable toy building block.
 4. The interconnectable toybuilding block of claim 3, wherein said first prong comprises a lightguiding prong, and wherein light guided through said first prong isvisible from said upper surface of said interconnectable toy buildingblock.
 5. The interconnectable toy block of claim 1, wherein said atleast one bore comprises a plurality of bores, and said at least oneprong comprises a corresponding plurality of prongs.
 6. Theinterconnectable toy building block of claim 1, wherein said bodyportion comprises a polyhedron, such that said upper surface issubstantially parallel to said lower surface, and said at least one sidesurface comprises a plurality of side surfaces each connecting saidupper surface and said lower surface.
 7. The interconnectable toybuilding block of claim 1, wherein said toy building block is devoid oflight sources.
 8. The interconnectable toy building block of claim 1,wherein said toy building block is devoid of electronic components. 9.An interconnectable toy building block, comprising: a body portiondefining an upper surface, a lower surface, and at least one sidesurface, said body portion being defined about a longitudinal axisextending between said upper surface and said lower surface; a boreformed in said body portion, said bore being open to said upper surfaceand to said lower surface, a longitudinal axis of said bore beingsubstantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said body portion;and a light conducting prong disposed within said bore, said pronghaving a top surface and a bottom surface, said top surface of saidprong disposed within said bore beneath a height of said upper surface,and said bottom surface of said prong disposed below said lower surface,such that a bottom portion of said prong extends outwardly from andbelow said lower surface, wherein an upper portion of said bore is notfilled by said prong.
 10. The interconnectable toy building block ofclaim 9, wherein light guided through said prong is visible when saidinterconnectable toy building block is viewed from above said uppersurface.
 11. The interconnectable toy block of claim 9, wherein saidbore comprises a plurality of bores, and said prong comprises acorresponding plurality of prongs.
 12. The interconnectable toy buildingblock of claim 9, wherein said body portion comprises a polyhedron, suchthat said upper surface is substantially parallel to said lower surface,and said at least one side surface comprises a plurality of sidesurfaces each connecting said upper surface and said lower surface. 13.The interconnectable toy building block of claim 9, wherein said toybuilding block is devoid of light sources.
 14. The interconnectable toybuilding block of claim 9, wherein said toy building block is devoid ofelectronic components.
 15. A toy structure comprising: a firstinterconnectable toy building block according to claim 9, including afirst said bore and a first said prong; and a second interconnectabletoy building block according to claim 9, including a second said boreand a second said prong, wherein said bottom portion of said first prongis disposed within said upper portion of said second bore, such thatlight guided through said second prong is transmitted, within saidsecond bore, to said first prong and is guided therethrough, such thatthe light is visible when said toy structure is viewed from above saidupper surface of said first interconnectable toy building block.
 16. Thetoy structure of claim 15, wherein said first interconnectable toybuilding block has a first shape, and said second interconnectable toybuilding block has a second shape, different that said first shape. 17.A method for building a three dimensional structure, the methodcomprising: obtaining a first interconnectable toy building blockaccording to claim 9, including a first said bore and a first saidprong; obtaining a second interconnectable toy building block accordingto claim 9, including a second said bore and a second said prong; andinserting said bottom portion of said first prong into said upperportion of said second bore.